Steering Council nomination: Donghee Na (2026 term)

Core Development Steering Council Nominations
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Looking Back on the Past Year

Before talking about why I am nominating myself again, I would like to take a moment to look back on the past year.
Surprisingly, I did not expect to be elected as an SC member this year, but thanks to my colleagues @gpshead, @barry, @pablogsal, and @emily, I was able to serve my role well and learn a lot from them.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank them once again for their support and collaboration throughout the year.

Over the past year, I have grown a lot in different ways through my work on the Steering Council.
I had opportunities to explore areas I have always been interested in, such as typing, packaging, and the C API.
I met and worked with many people to discuss technical details and make important decisions together.
I interacted with many people at various PyCons, including PyCon US, PyCon Taiwan, and PyCon Korea.
My English skills also improved, as I had to participate in weekly meetings entirely in English.

On the other hand, I contributed less directly to CPython through code than in previous years.
This is partly because a portion of my part-time Python work was dedicated to serving on the Steering Council, and partly because my responsibilities as a lead engineer at my company have grown, making my schedule a bit busier.
Still, I have continued to stay close to the development process and to support contributors through reviews, discussions, and mentoring.

Commit count comparison (CPython main branch):

Why I Am Running Again

I am personally proud to have been involved in decisions around the free threading project, including PEP 779 and several PEPs related to the Stable ABI.
I was also glad to help shape the roadmap for how multiple experimental projects should move forward based on these decisions.

I would like to thank @colesbury, @kj0, @vstinner, and @encukou for their thoughtful discussions and collaboration on many technical topics throughout the year.

I would like to continue this momentum by supporting both the free threading project and the experimental JIT project by serving as an SC member for another year.
As I mentioned when I nominated myself last year (link), I believe I have kept my promise to act as a bridge between underrepresented regions and the core development community.
I would like to keep building on that role, helping connect people, encourage collaboration, and guide the ongoing evolution of Python.

If I am elected again, I will gladly continue serving on the Steering Council for another year.
If I am not, I am more than ready to return as an active individual contributor and focus deeply on technical work again with a happy heart.

Thank you for your continued trust and support.

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I am pleased to recommend him once again. He has been a steady driving force behind Python sprints in Asia, encouraging participation and creating opportunities for contributors throughout the region. Thanks to his dedication, many sprints were successfully held this year, and I expect meaningful outcomes from these efforts to emerge soon.

I intend to continue supporting his work. He has served as an effective bridge connecting underrepresented communities with the broader Python development ecosystem, and I trust he will continue to strengthen that role.

To any companies in Asia reading this, I would kindly ask you to consider offering a venue or modest sponsorship for future sprints. This is partly in jest, yet it reflects the genuine positive impact his activities have had on our community.

He has shown consistent dedication and thoughtful leadership over the past year. For these reasons, I am pleased to recommend him and look forward to seeing his continued contributions.

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Thank you Donghee for your service this year on the Steering Council. We are fortunate to have your leadership, thoughtfulness, and commitment to CPython and its community. Good luck to you and all of the nominees. 2025 has been a wonderful year.

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